Published: 18 Jan 2018

Back at Quad City Airport, Christina was talking with Gabe and Colonel Zolotov when she received a call from Apollo. “Chris, this is Apollo. We’ve got company coming from the south. Looks like Humvees, Bradleys and tanks.”

“Roger. Keep your distance, we’ll get you some backup.” He acknowledged her order as she looked at Zolotov. “Colonel, how are the ordnance loads for your helos?”

“I will check with my pilots and let you know.” She nodded and he walked away to check with his men. While she waited for the colonel to give her an update, Major Boyd, who happened to be standing nearby, walked over to her. She looked at him, “Is there a problem Major?” He shook his head. “No, but I heard you ask the Russian about ordnance. Is there a problem?” She didn’t say anything as she leveled her gaze at him for a few seconds before shaking her head. “No. No problem. Why?”

“Oh, I thought that since you were asking him about ordnance levels, I assumed that meant there might be trouble nearby.” She again calmly looked at him. “Again, I ask you why you are asking about it.” Major Boyd could not read anything from her. “I thought that if there was a problem, maybe we could help.” She glanced at Colonel Zolotov who was talking on the radio. “What sort of help do you mean?”

“I have six Apaches, six Cobras, three Kiowas and four Warthogs. If there is a problem we can probably fix it.” Colonel Zolotov walked up just as the major finished. “I am sorry Major, but you don’t have that many. We unfortunately had to destroy two of your Cobras and one of the…Warthogs you call them, when we attacked the northern side of the airport. We wanted to make sure your men knew we meant business. Also there is the one Apache that is out there now.” Major Boyd nodded.

“So Major, how do we know that we can trust you. You’ve been following Ashwood’s orders for the last few weeks and are in rebellion against the legally elected government of the United States. How do we know that if we allow you access to your machines that you won’t turn them against us and attack us?”

“I can only give you my word that neither my men nor I support Ashwood any longer. We cannot support someone who would do the sort of things that you have shown us. He needs to be stopped.” Christina looked at him for a moment before looking around the room. She found who she was looking for. “ETHAN!” When he turned around, she waved for him to join them. He trotted over glancing at the major when he joined them. “What do you need Chris?” She pointed her thumb at the Army major. “Major Boyd here says that he wants to help. That he no longer supports Ashwood. What do you think?” The major looked at Ethan, trying to figure out what was going on. He was already confused that two colonels, one Russian and one American, seemed to defer to this teenage girl who was apparently a captain in some sort of Special Forces group. He didn’t know what rank this kid held and why she would be asking for his opinion. The teen looked at him for a few seconds. Major Boyd recoiled slightly from the boy’s intense gaze. He didn’t know what it was, but he felt a little unnerved by him. A moment later Ethan looked at Christina and nodded. “He means what he says.” She gestured to the other prisoners. “What about the rest.” He looked at the major’s men. “Maybe if we gather the pilots and crews, the major could tell them he wants to switch sides and fight with us instead of against us.” She nodded. “That could work. How long do you think it will take?” Ethan shrugged. “A few minutes I think. That should give me enough time.” She nodded and looked at Major Boyd. “Major gather just your pilots and crews and let’s talk to them over there.” She pointed at an area of the hangar that was away from the rest of the prisoners. Major Boyd nodded and walked over to his men.

Christina looked at Ethan. “You’re sure about him?” Ethan nodded. “He’s not happy to have been lied to by his superiors. He was not happy about this whole Civil War in the first place, but the only info they had was what was being passed down by Ashwood and their officers. So as far as he knew Bryce was the one at fault, not Ashwood. They didn’t know what was really going on. If the rest are like that, then it won’t take long to see it while the two of you talk to them.” Chris nodded as the three of them walked over to where they would wait for the pilots.

Major Boyd soon led his pilots and crews over to where Chris and Ethan were standing. “Men, I brought you over here to tell you that I have told them that I am no longer supporting Ashwood and that I wish to join with their forces to fight against him. What has been going on in our country is wrong and must be stopped. We have foreign soldiers in our country by his invitation and they are attacking Americans. If any of you don’t think that this is the right thing for you to do, then step to the side. It will not be held against you, however, I would assume you would be detained until this war ends.” He looked at Christina when he said that and she nodded. He turned back to face his men. “So if you need to step out, do so now.”

They waited and no one moved. Chris gazed at them when Ethan tapped her on the shoulder and whispered in her ear. “There’s two AoG people in there. It’s a pilot and his copilot. They fly one of the Apaches.” She nodded. “Get someone over here to hold them.” Ethan nodded and turned away so the men wouldn’t see him close his eyes as he reached out to a couple of his friends.

<Jamie, Josh, can you come over here?>

The two of them walked over and Ethan went to meet them. “What’s up?” Ethan jabbed his thumb over his shoulder and kept his voice low as he spoke to them. “There’s a couple of AoG people among those pilots.” He projected their images to the two boys. “Chris said she wants someone to hold them. I thought of you Jamie.” Jamie grinned. “Yeah, I can do that. Piece of cake.” Ethan grinned back and walked back to Christina. She was talking to them. “Since you have agreed to join us, we can use your help right now. There is a column of armored vehicles, and Humvees headed this way. We need them stopped. The way I see it, that means they are either completely destroyed or they surrender. I will be sending some of Colonel Zolotov’s men with you and some of his attack helicopters to join you. If they surrender Colonel Zolotov will take care of the prisoners.” She looked at the colonel. “I’ll send Colonel Patterson with you.” Zolotov smiled and nodded. Ethan stopped her before she continued. He leaned in close. “Everything is handled. The two in question were going to shoot at some of the others and then try to get away and report to their superiors about what’s going on. I think they decided Apollo was going to be their first target.” She looked up and saw Jamie and Josh casually walking around to the back of the group of men. “Remember we have a friendly unit onsite. Don’t shoot at the Apache that is on station. He’s one of mine. Please get your gear and meet back here in ten.”

The men broke up and started to head off when there was an angry yell. “What the fuck is going on! Why can’t we move!?” She smiled as she looked at the two men who were struggling a little bit as they tried to follow the others. Several of the pilots turned back to see what was going on. Major Boyd glanced between Christina and the two men who were struggling as if bound. He saw two teenagers walk over with plastic restraints in their hands. They quickly had the men’s hands behind their back. “What is the meaning of this?”

“Major, you need to go get ready. We’ll take care of these two traitors. They planned to betray you all and attack you when they got a chance and then flee to join Ashwood’s forces. When you return, we’ll have a quick briefing and send you on your way.”

“How do you know that?”

“How we know is not within your need to know. Hurry Major, we need that column stopped.” His mouth was set in a grim line as he turned and trotted away to get his gear ready. “Colonel get your men ready and tell Colonel Patterson that he is to join you. Leave a hundred of your men here to assist us. Once the pilots return, we’ll go over what they need to do and send them on their way.” He nodded and went looking for Gabe.

She turned to face the two men with an evil smile. “So we find more of your kind. How nice.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, girl. I don’t know what you think you’re doing, but release us, so we can join our friends.” She smiled and lifted her hand up to pat his cheek. “Army of God traitors are not welcome in our army. You are traitors to your country and in my opinion don’t deserve to live. If I had my way, I would rip your minds out and throw your carcasses to the dogs. No, wait, I know someone who would love to slowly eat you while you are alive, well at least you would be for a little while. I know a very large panther, that has not had a taste of one of you yet, I’m sure she wouldn’t mind trying it out. She has a taste for evil men such as yourselves. It gives her satisfaction to end the lives of such people, slowly. She eats well, so I’m sure Fluffy would take her time with you. We wouldn’t want either of you to miss out on the experience.”

“I don’t know anything about this Army of God crap you’re spewing, but you’re messing with the wrong man, girl.” Christina smiled and grabbed his uniform collar and twisting it tight as she lifted him off the ground. He started struggling for breath as his face turned red. She smiled at him. “Oh, I think you do know what I’m talking about and you will tell us everything we want to know or else I will arrange a meeting with you and Fluffy as soon as I can do so.” She dropped him and he fell to the floor coughing and gasping as he tried to catch his breath. She looked at Jamie and Josh. “Take these two and watch over them. We’ll talk to them later. Right now we have an Army column to show the error of their ways.” Jamie helped the man up from the ground and they were escorted to an office.

She walked over to Sean. “Sean, connect me with Apollo.” He nodded and got to work. Seconds later he nodded. “Apollo this is Chris. Sitrep.”

“They are still advancing. You want us to do something about it.”

“Hold one.” She looked at Sean. “Can you tap into his helo’s systems?” Sean turned to his computer. “Dusty find the Apache that Apollo is using.” Dusty popped up on the screen a few moments later. “Got it.” Christina nodded. “Apollo. Sean is connected to your system. Have Dakota use the optical system on the column and let me see what you’ve got.”

“Can do.” Moments later they could see what the Apache could see. She watched for a several seconds and nodded. “Good. Stay where you are. I’m sending reinforcements to you. I have an idea of what I’ll want you to do and once I send your reinforcements, I’ll contact you and tell you what the plan is.” Apollo acknowledged. When she saw Major Boyd she waved him over to her. As he entered the hangar, he was looking around for the two missing men. “Where are my men?” Christina looked at him. “You mean the two traitors who planned to shoot down my people who were out there and anyone else that got in their way so that they could escape to Ashwood’s forces? Those two men?” The major was brought up short. “They told you that?” She nodded. “Yes and we’re going to find out more. I have the traitors under guard and will turn them over to the proper authority when I have the chance. For now let me show you what we’re up against, that is if you have no further objections?” The man shook his head. “Good. Sean project on the wall what we’ve got coming.” Sean made a couple of motions and the images they had captured from Apollo appeared on the wall. Everyone’s attention was drawn to it.

“Here is the column. I want your men to take out the leading and rear elements, then have one of the Warthogs strafe part of the column. At that time, call down to them and tell them to surrender. If they don’t, then have the next A-10 strafe another part of the column and again tell them to surrender. Keep doing that until they surrender or all the vehicles are destroyed. Once they surrender, Colonels Zolotov and Patterson will take care of the survivors. Have one of your Kiowas, a couple of the Apaches and one A-10 remain in the area as top cover. The rest of the unit is to return here and rearm in case they are needed to go back out.”

Gabe and Colonel Zolotov had joined them and she looked at them. “Any questions?” They all shook their heads. “Okay, I’ll let Apollo know you’re on the way.” She called Apollo while the Apache and Kiowa crews got their helicopters into the air and let him know what the plan was. Colonel Zolotov flew the Cobra and A-10 pilots to the other side of the field where their aircraft were located.

Lieutenant Colonel David Elias looked out the front windscreen of his Command Humvee as he led his reinforced battalion’s column north on I-74. His orders were to reinforce the line near the area around the Rock Island Arsenal. The base would serve as his headquarters and he would rotate his platoons around the area, to protect the approaches to the nearby bridges. They had just left Galesburg where they had spent the night, when he had received an alert call on the radio. Apparently there had been an air attack on the Air National Guard Base in Peoria. The report said that high explosives and cluster bombs had hit them early that morning and had caused major damage to their runway, aircraft and other facilities. They had just gotten their communications backup and were sending out the alert now so that all nearby forces were informed of the attack. As soon as he heard that, Elias had ordered that the column increase their speed just in case there was a concerted attack on the main line of resistance. He wanted to get to the base as soon as possible.

His driver had pointed out an Apache that was flying nearby and he was about to order the column to spread out, and prepare to defend against it, but it did not attack. He had been informed that he would have Close Air Support when needed from an air unit that was based at the local airport, so he figured this was one of those helicopters patrolling the area. He put the radio down and sat back in his seat. The attack must have been isolated if there was an Apache patrolling the area. Perhaps it was patrolling because of an alert from Peoria. He was satisfied that they seemed to be on the ball. You never knew whether the airdales were on the ball or sitting on their asses drinking coffee.

They had just crossed Illinois Highway 81 when he saw several dark specs heading their way. As the specs grew larger, he could make out two different types of helicopter, Apaches and Cobras. When they were a few hundred yards away, he saw several missiles leap out from the helicopters. “GET OFF THE ROAD!” The driver immediately turned just as the first Hellfire struck them. His Humvee was the first vehicle to be lost. Several other missiles struck a few of the vehicles behind them. They were well trained men and they started to get to the sides of the interstate, so they were no longer in a column which hampered their ability to move freely. This would allow them to better defend against the attack.

Some of the vehicles at the rear of the column exploded and just as they were turning off the interstate an A-10 attacked the column. The 30mm rounds chewed through the front part of the line, leaving death and destruction in its wake. In the column all the vehicles that could opened up on the helicopters as they moved off road, especially the M2 .50 caliber machine guns that were mounted on many of the vehicles. Over their radio they heard a demand for them to surrender. The demand was ignored and more Hellfire missiles hit a few of the M-1 Abrams and M-2 Bradleys as they moved into position to return fire. Another A-10 roared down ripping into more of the vehicles. The Cobras and Apaches roared in, firing their chain guns at the vehicles. As they flew by, one of the Cobras was staggered by the fire from several .50 cal machine guns. It tried to turn away and attempt to land, but the engine exploded and it arrowed into the ground. The small group of vehicles that the fire had come from were engulfed in several explosion as Hellfires hit them.

Once again the radios came alive with a demand for surrender. “We are part of President Bryce’s forces. We demand that you stop firing, turn off your vehicles and surrender.” Shooting down the Cobra must have heartened them and the demand was once again ignored. Since the column had now split up and were in the fields on either side of the interstate, all three A-10s strafed the unit. A large number of the vehicles were ripped apart and exploded.

Gabe looked down from the cockpit of the MI-26 and saw men stumbling out of the vehicles. He lifted the radio and once again demanded the surrender of the column. This time he heard a voice come over the radio. “We…we surrender. Cease firing. Cease firing.” Gabe switched to the frequency they were using. “All units, Cease Fire. I repeat, Cease Fire. They’ve had enough. Major Boyd, send most of them back and keep a few here.”

“Roger.” Gabe heard the major telling which pilots were to remain and which were to return to base as he switched over to the frequency he was using to contact the enemy column. He looked at the remains of the column and saw men exiting the vehicles. He saw one or two men who were still manning the machine guns, but the sight of an Apache or Cobra chain gun pointing their way was enough to get them to leave the vehicle.

“This is Colonel Patterson, United States Army. Who am I talking to?”

“Lieutenant Hazen, sir.”

“Very well Lieutenant, are you in command of this unit?”

“I don’t know for sure sir.”

“Unit Commander, if you are able, please answer me.” Gabe waited for an answer. After a minute. “Lieutenant, I guess you’re it. Please gather the men of your command. Give me your location in the column and I will land and accept your surrender.”

“Yes, sir. I am on the east side of the interstate near a road that leads to a farmhouse.” Gabe noted the resignation in the voice. They continued to fly around the area watching as men left their vehicles and gathered in the open. Medics moved among them to tend to the wounded. He looked for the area described by the lieutenant. There was a Bradley and a couple of Humvees undamaged stopped next to each other. Nearby were several destroyed vehicles. He pointed them out to Colonel Zolotov and he nodded. He tapped the pilot on the shoulder. “Zastav’te nas tam.” The pilot nodded and began his descent.

As the large Russian helicopter came in to land, the men on the ground noticed the red star on its side and they were confused. The ramp lowered and a large number of men ran out and trained the guns on them. Now they were really worried. Gabe walked over to the men with Colonel Zolotov at his side. “I’m Colonel Patterson. Which of you is Lieutenant Hazen?” Gabe saw a young man in his mid-twenties step forward. “I’m Lieutenant Hazen.”

“Lieutenant Hazen. I’m here to accept the surrender of you and your men on behalf of President Bryce.” The young man looked at Gabe for a few moments before he straightened up and saluted. “We surrender. I ask that my men and the wounded be well treated.” Gabe returned his salute. “Of course Lieutenant they will receive the best care possible.” Gabe looked around. “What is your unit Lieutenant?”

“We are part of the 4^th Cavalry Brigade out of Kentucky.” Gabe nodded. “Mister Hazen, I will need a driver for each of the undamaged vehicles and only the driver. Each driver will be accompanied by two men from our allied force. They will be driven to our current location in Moline. The rest of your men, especially the wounded will be flown to our position where they will be taken care of. One more thing Lieutenant, tell your men that it would not be wise to attempt anything. These are Russian Spetsnaz soldiers. They will be given orders to shoot, if anyone tries something. I do not want any more of you to die for no reason. Is that understood?” The young man nodded. “Very well Mister Hazen please see to the disposition of your men.”

Jeff Hazen turned to a couple of the senior NCOs that were with him. Colonel Zolotov told his men what was expected and they dispersed to their assigned driver. It took thirty minutes to gather the few undamaged vehicles that were left. While that was happening, the rest started to file into the Mi-26. They were directed where to sit by their Russian guards. Each man was quickly checked for weapons before being allowed onboard. The more seriously wounded men were put on stretchers that were carried into the helicopter. Once the vehicles were moving north, Gabe and the colonel went to the cockpit and Gabe got on the radio. “Major Boyd. We have the wounded and other men aboard. Please escort the remaining vehicles to the airport, we will meet you there.”

“Roger.” Gabe glanced at Zolotov. “Let’s head back.” He nodded and issued the order to the pilot. They were soon airborne and passing the moving column of vehicles. Behind them, smoke climbed into the sky from the remains of the destroyed column.

When they neared the airport, they were directed to land near the terminal building. They had called ahead to tell them that they were bringing in wounded. Doc, Ian and Ram had set up an aid station in the terminal building which would be warmer than the south side hangar had been. Captain Nim was overseeing the men who were manning the control tower. Those that had died during the morning attack had been put into body bags and put in a mostly empty reefer in the terminal building after they removed the last bit of food that was still stored there. The two AoG members were guarded by the Spetsnaz in one of the offices in the terminal building.

When the Russians landed, the three Red Dragon medics quickly triaged the wounded and directed where they were to be taken. There were a few that were seriously wounded and Ian had them taken to one of the first class lounges so that he could work on them right away. He didn’t heal them all the way, but he made sure that they were well out of danger. They were still weak from blood loss and the traumatic shock to their systems, but in a couple of days they would be up and around mostly good as new. Jamie assisted him when there was shrapnel to be removed. It didn’t take the two of them very long before they had all the seriously wounded taken care of. Ian left the lounge and started checking the other wounded He didn’t spend much time with any of them, but each one was given a little healing so they could heal faster. As he made his way through the wounded, there were some looks of confusion that followed him as the men felt a change and a lessening of the pain in their previously wounded body part and couldn’t figure out what had happened.

Early in the afternoon, C-130s began landing with reinforcements who would be taking over security at the airport and the arsenal. Among the soldiers landing with the reinforcements were officers whose sole purpose was to inform the prisoners of what Ashwood had been doing over the last few weeks and trying to get more information on the Ashwood forces in the area. The secondary purpose of these men was to also inform them that if they were willing, they would be accepted into Bryce’s forces.

Ethan and Dylan got a chance after lunch to question the two AoG members, but there was little more that they could find out from them that they didn’t already know. They did confirm that the AoG had put out the word to all of their military operatives to be on the lookout for the UNIT members and inform their superiors about them. The notice did not call them UNIT members, but instead had used a description of the black armored forces. After he finished with them, the two of them walked among the new prisoners, scanning for anyone that might be AoG, but found no others.

At the Rock Island Arsenal, more of the reinforcements were landed to take over the base. All of the Blood’s Honor and the Spetsnaz that had started the initial assaults across the river were relieved by the reinforcements and they were brought over to the Quad City airport with the rest of their teams and the Red Dragons.

At the breakthrough point at the I-80 bridge, a lot of work was being done to get the gap in the bridge filled in. The Army Corps of Engineers was hard at work. The entire time, reinforcements kept crossing the river and gathering for the drive to Chicago. By afternoon the force headed east on I-80. The 1^st Armored Brigade Combat Team led the way, with parts of the 7^th Infantry Division backing them up.

Because Ashwood had the army keep the highways as clear as possible, it was easy to move ahead at a comfortable pace. When they neared a town, a small force comprising parts of the 1^st Armored and the 7^th Infantry would pull off to check for any of Ashwood’s forces. Once a town was cleared, they rejoined the column. Most of the towns held no enemy forces, probably because most of Ashwood’s forces in the area were either on the Mississippi River line or they were taking part in the siege of Chicago.

When they reached the town of Annawan and the junction with Highway 78, the commander knew that the headquarters of the 2/106^th Cavalry was based out of Kewanee ten miles to the south and sent a larger force to lock it down. By late afternoon they were in Princeton, IL and that is when they ran into a small force. The fight was over relatively quickly because Ashwood’s force was far overmatched. They quickly surrendered when they saw what they were up against.

When the column reached Princeton, the commander sent a significantly larger force south to Peoria to take the Air National Guard base there. The forces at the base were surprised as they had no armored vehicles. The airport was a mess. They saw the remains of destroyed military and civilian planes everywhere. A few of the buildings were still smoldering. The runways were in bad shape as well, the only aircraft that could make use of them were helicopters. No planes were going to be using them for some time. The B-2s had done their job well that morning.

Some of the 7^th Infantry division were sent a little further south via Blackhawks, escorted by Apaches to Springfield, where the 183^rd Fighter Wing was based. Again the B-2s had rendered the airport useless for Ashwood’s forces. The Apaches made the initial attack, followed by the Blackhawks. Upon landing, they quickly took the airport. Once they had made sure that all the aircraft were destroyed, they climbed back into the Blackhawks and turned back north to join the main column.

The main column reached Peru by the time it got dark with little or no opposition. They had a short fight when they reached the city and the commander ordered the column to gather at the Illinois Valley Regional Airport at the western edge of the city. He ordered several of the companies from the 1^st Armored and 7^th Infantry to place themselves around the city to protect against any attack from Ashwood’s forces, especially from the direction of Chicago.

Late in the afternoon at the Quad City airport in Moline, Captain Nim’s team in the control tower were contacted concerning a VC-20 with F-16 escort coming their way. When it landed, Christine, Gabe and Colonel Zolotov were there to meet it. A general followed by his aides came down the steps to greet them. He quickly returned their salutes and looked around the area for a moment before turning his attention to them with a smile on his face.

“I’m General Andrew Rose, these are my aides, Major Acosta and Captain Maynard.” They all shook hands. “Well done all of you. Outstanding job getting us over the river. The president has sent me here to relieve you so that your teams can return to Offutt. It’s time for the regular army to take it from here. I’m sure the President will have other things in mind for you that will be a better use of your time and particular talents. For now I’d like to meet with you to see where we are.”

Chris nodded. “Yes, sir. Please follow me.” She led the way into the terminal building. Once inside, they were led to a large conference room that was being used as the briefing room. Inside the room, Sean was sitting at the table with Dakota next to him. He had a map projected on a screen and was talking with the commander of the main column. On the map that was projected on the wall, he was making notations about the location of where their forces were located.

Dakota noticed them enter and saw the Army officers entering the room and stood up at attention. Sean was focused on what he was doing and it took a couple of nudges from Dakota to get his attention. The first time, Sean continued working. “Just a minute Dak, let me get these positions noted.” The next nudge was a bit harder and caused Sean to look up at Dakota. “What?” Dakota nodded to the group that was standing at the entrance. Sean looked and his eyes widened as he quickly jumped to his feet. “Sorry sir, I didn’t see you come in.” The general smiled and waved his hand. “As you were, son.” Sean hesitated only a moment before sitting down and getting back to work.

General Rose stepped forward and looked at the projected map for a few moments before turning to Christina. “So Captain, what can you tell me.”

Christina stepped forward and glanced at Sean. “Zoom your map out, so we can see the area from here to beyond the main column’s advance and north and south to show where our forces are.” Sean nodded and made a movement with one of his arms and the map zoomed out to show the area from the river to Chicago. She nodded and moved up to the map. “Sean where is the main column at this moment.” Sean made a gesture and a blinking light appeared on the map.

“They have halted for the night at Peru, Illinois. They also took the headquarters for the 2^nd of the 106^th Cavalry in Kewanee, the Air National Guard Base in Peoria and a force of the 7^th Infantry were sent to the base of the 183^rd Fighter Wing in Springfield.” As she spoke, Sean made gestures and points of light appeared on the map to show each location. She paused and looked at General Rose to see if he had any questions, he waved for her to continue.

She nodded and turned to the map. “Earlier today a force of M1s, Bradleys and Humvees from the 4^th Cavalry Brigade out of Kentucky were spotted heading this way. The commander of the air units stationed here have switched sides after they found out all the things that Ashwood has been hiding from them. His command assisted us in stopping them. Currently some of our Russian allies are driving them up here to bolster our defenses at the base, they should be arriving soon. That is where we stand right now, General.”

General Rose looked at the map and the disposition of forces for a few moments before turning to face them. “Very good, thank you Captain, Colonel and Colonel.” He said the last with a slight smile. “Captain, can your comm tech give Major Acosta all the information you have on our forces.” She glanced at Sean.

“Hey Dusty, can you give the major what he needs?” On the screen they saw the teen cowboy pop up and smile. “Already done Sean.”

While Christina had updated the general. The two aides had gotten their laptops out and set up. Major Acosta looked down at his laptop and he was startled to see that same young cowboy pop onto his screen and wink at him, point at a file that appeared on his desktop and then disappear. Major Acosta opened the file and looked it over for a few moments before he looked at his boss and nodded. “I have it. I don’t know how, this is a secure government computer. No one should be able to do that, at least not like that, but…”

“Don’t worry Major. As long as you have what we need that’s all that matters.” He glanced at the map and then turned to his aides. “Find out where we are with the reinforcements.” They nodded and started checking the info on their computers. Sean noticed that Dusty was jumping up and down on the screen with his hand in the air. “I know, I know.”

Sean looked at General Rose. “Um, sir, Dusty says he can tell you.” The aides stopped what they were doing and looked at Sean and the screen that showed the young cowboy jumping up and down on the projected screen. General Rose pulled out a chair and sat down. “Okay son, tell me.” Sean looked at Dusty. “Go ahead Dusty.”

Dusty smiled. “Well General. The regiments of the 1^st Cavalry Division that you requested are on the way, it will be a couple of days before they arrive. Part of the 7^th Cavalry will be here by tomorrow afternoon. Parts of the 1^st Infantry Division out of Fort Riley and the 35^th Infantry Division out of Fort Leavenworth are on the way and should be here to reinforce the column the day after tomorrow. The only thing that will slow them up is at the bridge. All reports say the engineers are working continuously to strengthen the bridge so it can take more traffic. Some squadrons of F-16s, F-15s, F-35s and F-22s will be landing here this evening. That’s all I have General Sir.”

“How does he know all that and who is he?” Sean looked at Major Acosta. “Sorry sir, I can’t tell you.” The major frowned. “What do you mean you can’t tell me.”

“Major, he means that any questions concerning this team and their capabilities are Top Secret Eyes Only. I know about them and I will explain what I can but most of it I can’t tell you, without the okay of my boss.”

“General before you tell them anything, I need to make sure they are okay.” She looked at General Rose and he returned her gaze before nodding. “Thank you sir, I’ll send Ethan and Dylan to you.”

General Rose nodded. “Other than that, can you get your commander on the line, Captain?” She nodded and glanced at Dusty’s image. “Dusty, can you get Eve on the line?” Dusty tipped his hat. A moment later the screen changed and Daisy appeared. “Hi Daisy. Can we talk to Eve?”

“I’ll get her for you. Give me a moment.” A moment later Eve’s face come on the screen. “Daisy told me that you needed to speak with me, Christina.”

“Yes Eve, General Rose is here and wishes to speak with you.” Eve’s eyes shifted and she nodded. “General Rose. How can the UNIT help you?”

“Good afternoon General.”

“Please excuse me sir, I’m no general, just the commander of the UNIT. I don’t want you to think I’m claiming a rank that I have not earned.” He was a little surprised at her bluntness but he knew they were unconventional and shrugged. “Very well Commander. I just wanted to tell you that your teams performed outstandingly. The president sent me here to relieve your teams so that they can return home.”

“Thank you, sir. Just doing our job.” She shifted her gaze. “Captain Casey, have your teams get a good night’s sleep and then we’ll see you back here at Offutt.” She shifted her gaze. “Sir, please tell the president that we’re always happy to help. See you when you get back Captain.” She disappeared from the screen.

General Rose stood up. “Once again thank you Captain Casey, Colonel Patterson, Colonel Zolotov. Could I ask that you keep an eye out for the rest of my staff when they arrive and direct them here?” Christina nodded and they all shook hands and then saluted. General Rose saluted them. “I relieve you Captain.”

“I stand relieved, General.” They dropped their salutes and picked up their gear. Sean disconnected everything and packed up quickly. Moments later he and Dakota left the room. As he reached the door, the general called to him. “Son, if you ever need a job, call me.” Sean smiled. “Thank you for the offer sir, but I can’t leave my family.” He chuckled at the teen. “I understand.” Sean gave him a grin.

As Christina went through the terminal she started gathering her team. She sent Dylan to get Major Gulipo. When they joined her in one of the conference rooms, she let them know what was going on. “Listen up everyone. We have been relieved. The Army is going to take it from here. I want you all to get some rest and we’ll be leaving bright and early in the morning for Offutt, from there probably back to Kettle Falls. We’ll find out when we get to Offutt. Colonel Zolotov, Major Gulipo, does that work for you as well.” They both nodded. She saw there were a lot of tired but happy people around her. “Furthermore, General Rose wanted me to tell you all that you did an outstanding job, as I would expect. I want to be out of here by first light.” She looked at Chase. “Unfortunately Chase you will need to keep your helmet on when you’re out among the others. There are too many people here that we don’t know well enough to let them find out about you. I’m sorry Chase, hopefully one day it won’t be an issue.”

Chase gave one of his characteristic smiles and came over and hugged her. “I understand Chrissy. It is alright. When we get back home, I know that I do not have to hide. I can wait. Thank you for caring Chrissy.” She hugged him back. “Alright. Get some rest. See you all in the morning.” She looked at Ethan and Dylan. “I need you two to go to the command room where General Rose is. I want to make sure he and his aides are okay.” They nodded and left.

The two teens walked to the door of the command room and knocked. Captain Maynard looked at the two boys. “Yes.”

“Chris sent us.”

“Chris.”

“Oh sorry sir, Captain Casey.” General Rose looked over to the door and saw the two boys there and waved for them to come in. “Captain Casey said she would send someone. How do we do this?”

“Very simple sir. Dylan will ask your aides a question, and depending on how they answer, it will tell us what we need to know.” He nodded. “Very well, but I will answer the question as well.”

“That’s not necessary sir.”

“Nevertheless, I will answer as well.” The two boys looked at each other silently and gave mental shrugs. “Okay sir.”

“Sir, what is this about. What are they talking about?” Andrew looked at Major Acosta. “I can’t tell you yet, just answer the question and I may be able to tell you more.” He looked at the boys. “Go ahead son.” Ethan nodded to Dylan who turned to the three men. “Are any of you members of the Army of God?” Andrew immediately said no. The others were confused by the question and looked at him. He nodded to them. “Go ahead and answer the question gentlemen.” They looked at him a moment more before answering no. Andrew looked at the two boys. He saw the one who didn’t ask the question looking at them intently. After a few moments Ethan smiled and nodded. “Everything’s good sir.” Andrew smiled. “Thank you. Could I ask you to come back when my staff gets here a little later? I wish to make sure everything is good. Do you know how much I can tell my aides.”

“You can ask Chris, I mean Captain Casey, but I guess it’s up to you, although I think the less you tell, the better for us, but she would know better than us. I’ll tell Chris about your request so she knows.” They turned and walked to the door but stopped, turned around and saluted. “Sorry sir, we forgot to salute.” He chuckled. “No problem boys. I’ll see you men later.” They nodded and left. As they left the room they could hear one of the aides ask General Rose. “Sir what was that about?” They heard the general chuckle. “Well now I can explain a little bit…”

Later that evening, Ethan and Dylan were called to the command center. General Rose saw them enter and was going to say something but Ethan shook his head. <Don’t say anything sir.> Andrew was startled when he heard Ethan’s voice in his head. <We’ll just look around. It won’t take long sir.> Andrew nodded and went back to what he was doing. When Major Acosta noticed them, Andrew gave a slight shake of his head and although he was curious he followed orders. Moments later, Andrew received a message. <You’re clear sir.> He looked at the two boys and nodded. They left the room.

Early the next morning Red Dragons, Blood’s Honor and Spetsnaz loaded into their helicopters. General Rose was there to see them off. They gave him a final salute before climbing aboard. General Rose watched as they took off and headed west. He turned to his aides. “Okay let’s go finish what they started.”

Once they were out of sight, Chris had Dragon turn on the stealth and fly in a circuit around the formation of helicopters to watch just in case Ashwood had some aircraft that had somehow escaped yesterday’s attack.

By the time the Red Dragons were on the way back to Offutt, Colonel Louis Wigfall of the 1st Armored had his column up and on the road to Chicago. He and Colonel Donald Stretz of the 7^th Infantry were in constant communication as they advanced. Following along behind the 1st Armored were the 1^st and 3^rd Brigades of the 7^th Infantry. The 7^th Infantry Aviation Brigade scouted forward with their Kiowas flying low, nap of the earth. The Brigade’s attack helicopters waited at the airfield in Peru in case they were needed. The plan for them was to stay in ready status in case they were needed and once a similar sized airport was liberated they would move forward. Their next planned move would be Lewis University Airport, located a little north of Joliet.

The column left the airport and got on I-80 heading east. For the most part it was farmland on either side of the interstate with occasionally a few buildings appearing on either side. It took about an hour and a half when the interstate led them to the next larger city in its path, Morris, Illinois. The column was halted a few miles outside of the city while a detachment of Bradley’s, Humvees and Stryker’s entered the small city for a recon for any enemy units. They took the main road into town. It was early but there were people on the street going about their business. The sight of the military column got some attention and most everyone stopped to look at them as they drove through the town. Captain Glover, the Detachment Commander halted them at the City Administration building. He and several of the armed soldiers got out of their Humvees and walked into the building.

He walked up to the reception desk as his soldiers spread out watching everyone in the room. “I need to speak to the mayor.” Their entrance into the building had brought everything to a standstill as everyone eyed the well-armed soldiers. “Yes, sir. I’ll see if he’s in.” She hit a button on the phone. “Hi, this is Janice at reception, there is a soldier out here that wants to speak with the mayor.” She listened. “Yes, there’s a group of them here in the lobby….okay.” She hung up and looked at Glover. “I’m sorry sir, he’s not in yet, but his secretary is trying to reach him.”

“Are there any other city officials here right now?” She shook her head. “I don’t know sir.” The captain looked around and saw a police officer and pointed at him. “Officer, where is the police department?”

“On Chapin Street.” Captain Glover motioned for the officer to follow him out as he turned, and followed by his soldiers, left the building. Outside he turned to the officer. “We’ll follow you.” He pointed to one of the soldiers with him. “Sergeant Pollard, go with this officer.” The sergeant nodded and looked at the officer who hesitated a few moments. The captain glared at him. “Now.” The officer nodded and led the way to a nearby police car. As they got in the car. Captain Glover ordered the rest of the column to stay in the general area while he went to the police station.

A few minutes later they pulled up in front of the police station and Captain Glover had Sergeant Pollard go with him into the building. Their entrance caused a stir among the officers in the room. “I need to see the police chief or whoever the ranking officer is.” An older man came from a nearby office. “I’m Chief Charles Weeks. What can I do for you…” The man glanced at Glover’s insignia. “…Captain?”

“Sir, I just need some information. Are there any military units bivouacked nearby?” The chief shook his head. “No not recently. Don’t you people talk to each other? I would think you would know better than me.”

Glover looked at him for a moment before replying. “We do, but currently the traitor, formerly known as President Ashwood, isn’t exactly forthcoming with information about military deployments.” The chief paused as he was about to take a sip of his coffee. “What do you mean about President Ashwood?”

“Ashwood is no longer President as certified by Congress and the Supreme Court. Bryce won the election fairly, Ashwood ignored it so that he could become a dictator. There is currently a warrant out for his arrest for treason against the people of the United States, along with all those aiding him with that treason.”

“So you are with Bryce’s forces.” Captain Glover nodded. “The closest military units that I know of are in Joliet, Captain.” The chief then turned around and headed back to his office. Captain Glover looked at his retreating back and glanced at his sergeant who shrugged and the two of them left the building. In his office the chief picked up his phone and dialed a number. “They’re here and moving on Ashwood’s forces around Chicago…..No, I don’t know how many…I would guess it would have to be a large enough force to have crossed the river and now is driving on to Chicago….Yes, call the rest so that they know and are ready if necessary.” He walked back into the room and looked at the men who were there. “Spread the word.” Several of the officers nodded and left the building.

Their Humvee headed back to the Administration Building and had his detachment moving to rejoin the column. Captain Glover contacted the column. “Dreadnought, this is Red Alpha One. None here, Joliet is the place.”

“Roger Red Alpha One.” The detachment headed east on the main road and then north to rejoin the column on the interstate.

It took the column about half an hour to reach the junction for I-80 and I-55. Colonel Wigfall halted the column just before the interchange and checked the map. He noted Joliet Regional Airport on the map and believed it would be a good place to move the bulk of the helicopters, so that they would be nearby if needed. He sent the 1^st Brigade of the 7^th Infantry to secure the airport and ordered the helicopters that were waiting in Peru to advance to the airport. So far the weather had worked for them. No snow on the ground and no rain but it was in the forties so it was cold. He would have hated to be fighting in the snow.

The 1^st Brigade of the 7^th turned north on I-55. A short time later they saw the exit sign for the airport and they left the interstate. As they neared the airport they saw that there were some Army helicopters parked there. Lieutenant Colonel Tony Moran, 1^st Brigade Commander led the way to the airport. The map showed two entrances to the airport property and it was open from the road to the west except for a chain link perimeter fence, so he split his three battalions up. The HQ and 1^st Battalion went to the main road that lead to the terminal, the 2^nd Battalion took the road to the west and the 3^rd Battalion took the entrance near the hangars. There were a couple of guards with a Humvee at the two entrances. As Moran’s Humvee neared one of the guards held his hand up to stop the column and when they stopped, the guard casually walked to the driver’s window. “Hey, you guys lost?” The slight smile on his face disappeared and he froze when he saw the driver bring a pistol up into view, pointing at him. “No. We’re right where we need to be.”

Moran looked toward the gunner who had taken his place behind the .50 cal, as they neared the entrance. “Masters, cover the other guard. If he moves, kill him.” The gunner pointed the .50 at the guard near the Humvee who froze when he saw it pointed at him. Moran looked at the guard by the driver. “Guard call the other position and tell them to open the gate and let my men through. We’re here to secure this airfield.” The guard carefully lifted his hand and keyed the mic on his shoulder.

“Post two, post one. Open the gate, they are here to secure the airport.”

“Post two, roger.”

Sergeant Pollard and the other soldier got out of the Humvee and relieved the two guards of their weapons. They were then told to sit against their Humvee. Moran left one of his Humvee’s at the entrance to guard them and it, while he led the rest toward the parked helicopters. He saw 3^rd battalion entering the other gate. He called the 2^nd Battalion and told them to make their own entrance through the fence line. As they entered the airfield, they saw men moving around the helicopters and buildings.

When the 2^nd Battalion crashed through the fence, there was a pause in everyone’s activity as they looked in that direction. What they saw was the 2^nd Battalion moving toward them in a battle line. Suddenly the men started running, some toward the helicopters others to the buildings.

The two other battalions started spreading out. Their orders were to fire over the soldiers heads unless they shot back, then it was shoot to kill. They did not have a strong force here, a company of infantry to act as security for the airport and the pilots and their maintenance people was all there was. Some of the infantrymen were killed when they fired at the battalion, two of the helicopters were hit by 25mm fire and caught fire when their fuel tanks were hit.

Moran radioed the main column. “Dreadnought. Manchu Actual. Airport secure.”

“Roger Manchu. Air on the way. Leave one batt there, advance east.”

“Roger Dreadnought.”

The prisoners were moved into the main terminal, under guard, except for those necessary to put the fire out on the two burning craft. Moran held a quick meeting with his battalion commanders and tasked the 3^rd Battalion with securing the airport while the 1^st and 2^nd headed east.

By the time he was ready to head out, the helos were overhead.

As the main column neared the Des Plaines River, Colonel Wigfall split his force up so that they were crossing the river over different bridges, instead of everyone over the I-80 bridge. The interstate was clear because it was reserved for military movements. That meant the other bridges were used by everyone else to cross the river. This caused problems for the other columns to cross at first, but when the civilian saw the column of Humvees and armored vehicles coming toward them, they got out of the way as fast as they could.

They were on edge as they drove through the city, their eyes sharp as they looked for any enemy units. The further they went through the city the more uneasy but alert the men became. They were going through the east perimeter of the city when they received a report from the Kiowas that an enemy force was located near the interchange between I-80 and I-355.

Wigfall contacted the attack helos and ordered them forward to blow a hole in the line. As they neared the area, they saw the enemy force lined up to defend. The colonel figured someone at the airport must have radioed ahead. He gave the order for them to deploy and they spread out preparing to engage. As they moved into position, the Apaches and Cobras roared overhead and let loose a barrage of hellfire missiles from the Apaches and 2.75” rockets from the Cobras. As they neared the enemy line, they fired their miniguns and chainguns. The enemy got a couple of Stingers off and two Cobras were shot down.

As soon as they were in range, the armored vehicles of the column began firing, from the air the attack helicopters roared in and opened up with their weapons and the enemy force was mauled. Then, enemy attack helos appeared and the column began taking hits but they were not in great force and they were outnumbered by the attack helicopter squadrons supporting the column. Wigfall then called for air cover and within fifteen minutes, F-16s and F-15s flew overhead and fired into the enemy force and that was it. They then started searching for any nearby helicopter bases. Any they found were destroyed.

Once they reached what remained of the enemy force, Colonel Wigfall called a halt to the advance so they could regroup and he could get a status report from the commanders. He and Colonel Stretz ordered combined arms units to move out a couple of miles as a guarding force, to give them warning in case any enemy forces advanced against them. He had his men start searching for enemy survivors and get their wounded tended to as well as his own.

It was nearly two hours after they left the Quad City Airport that Offutt AFB appeared on the horizon. Christina had Drake drop the stealth before she radioed for landing instructions. As they came in to land they saw that the base was very busy. The number of aircraft had greatly increased. When they landed they were a little surprised to see Eve climb out of one of the Air Force SUVs and walk over to the Red Dragons as they walked down the ramp.

“Welcome back.”

“I thought you’d still be in the command center, Eve.” She shook her head. “They can do without me for a few minutes. I’ll head back there in a little bit. I wanted to greet you personally because there is some very important news that I thought you should hear directly from me.” She looked at all of them before continuing. “I can’t tell you how it happened, and it is completely unexpected, but…Adam is alive.” After a few moments of utter shock she was inundated with shocked questions. She put her fingers to her lips and let out a piercing whistle. “QUIET!” Once they had settled down she continued. “I don’t have the story of how he survived the attack, but he is seriously wounded, and is being treated by Doctor Hayes. Logan is with him.”

“Does the rest of the UNIT know yet?” Eve shook her head. “Not yet. I don’t want to distract them from their mission. They are still at Wright Patterson. I will let them know when I think it is the appropriate time, but I guarantee they will know soon.”

“Do we need to go and assist?” She looked at Christina and gave a slight shake of her head. “At this time, no. I have informed them that the Mississippi line is broken and our forces are moving to break the siege of Chicago. If they need any of you, I will let you know. But for now, go get some food and rest. Mac will take care of the helos. We’ll have a mission debrief later this afternoon. For now, I’m going to head back to the command center.”

As Eve got in the SUV and drove away, Zolotov and Gulipo walked up. They were told the news about Adam, and were just as shocked as the Red Dragons. Christina relayed Eve’s orders to them and they left to relay the orders to their teams. The first thing on most of their minds was food, so that is where they went.

If you are enjoying this story, please write and let the author know: Eric at CastleRoland dot Net